Women must speak up against harassment: Adnan Siddiqui

Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui said that women must speak up against harassment.

“I feel, we must empower women to speak up against a crime they’ve been subjected to. Instead of putting allegations on them, trolling them, we must be empathetic towards them,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

He remarked that the people must work towards helping “the world become free of any abuse and harassment.”

Siddiqui said that he has read about a few cases of sexual abuse, harassment, abduction and street crime across the globe. “They’ve been on the rise in the last few days. In Pakistan, street crime was in check for quite some time but apparently has started again.”

He further writes: “I think it requires immense courage to speak against such crimes. If you notice/experience anything that’s not favourable, or if someone tries to abuse or harass you please speak up. By keeping quiet you’re encouraging the culprit to continue with what he does.”

The #MeToo movement started across the globe after Hollywood actresses opened up about being harassed by producy Harvey Weinstein. Many women in Pakistan and India came forward with their experiences too. Singer Meesha Shafi accused Ali Zafar of harassing her.

Former Indian pageant winner Tanushree Dutta said that she was harassed by Nana Patekar on the set of one of her movies.